Holler for



rrnn srATus ROLLER FOR CURTAINS.

Specification of Letters Patent N o. 12,271, dated January 23, 1855.

To all whom t may concern.' K

Be it known that we, DEXTER I-I. CHAM- BERLAIN and JOHN HARTSHORN, ofBoston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Mas* sachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Improvment in Curtain-Fixtures; and we dohereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in thefollowing specication and the accompanying drawingsletters, figures, and'references thereof.

Of the said drawings Figure 1, denotes a front view of a curtain orwindow shade having our improved fixture applied to it. Fig. 2, exhibitsa vertical section of the same taken through the curtain roller and itsbrackets. e

In such drawings,.the curtain roller is shown at, A, and the curtain at,B, the said curtain being fixed to the roller in the usual way, andprovided with a tassel, C. The roller is madev tubular or is bored outaxially from end to end as seen at, D. Each of its ends being made torevolve in a tubular journal, E, made to project from one of twobrackets, F, F, which are screwed or otherwise properly fastened to theframe of the window or opening to which the curtain may be applied.

The journals are bored out in line of the axis of the curtain roller andso as to permit an india rubber or elastic cord torsion spring, Gr, tobe extended through them and` the bore of the curtain roller, suchspring being a cord carried through two branch holes, y, in each journaland leading laterally out of the round hole or passage through it. 'Ihejournals are pins with heads, e, o. In` applying this spring to thecurtain roller we lusually take a piece of elastic cord made in part orin whole of india rubber or other suitable elastic material and pass itstwo ends through one of the ljournals and the roller and thence throughthe other journal and secure it by tying the cord together. y

Between the doublings of the cord and through the roller we extend apin, I, or we fasten said spring cord at any suitable part of it to theroller. We prefer however to extend the fastening pin I transverselythrough the middle of the roller be-` cause under such circumstanceswhen the roller is rotatedso as to unwind the curtain and twistthespring cords, the roller will not be drawn endwise in one directionmore than in the other. draw the roller rendwise will balance oneanother so that there will be no tendency to draw the roller against onebracket with a greater force than it may be drawn toward the other.Friction of the cord of the roller against its bracket is what we seekto avoid.

From the above it will be seen that while the curtain is being drawndownward, or unwound from its roller, such roller will be put inrevolution by it and twist the india rubber or elastic torsion springand produce thereon such a torsion strain as will operate against thebalancing weight, C, and tend to rotate the roller in a reversedirection so as to wind up the curtain around it whenever the balanceweight is laid hold of and lifted upward.

Each head of each journal may be provided with a pin H, which may becarried between either recess in the side of the bracket.

Should it be desirable at any time to increase or dimish the power ofthe india rubber torsion spring, the journals may be pulled outward soas to draw the pin, I-I, out of its socket hole, s, in its bracket. Thejournal may next be revolved for either twisting or untwist-ing thecord, and after a proper amount of twist has been applied to or left inthe cord the pin may be replaced in its socket.

A common spiral metallic spring when applied to a curtain roller is veryliable to either break, get out of order, or lose its elasticity. Atorsion spring when made of elastic cord and applied in the manner aboveset forth is'f'not only chea er and more easily adjusted, and less liabe to get out of order, but presents in its operation and constructionseveral advantages over the spiral spring.

We do not claim the application of a torsion spring to one end only of acurtain roller, but

We claim- Our improved manner of applying the spring to the curtainroller, that is extendking it axially entirely through the roller andits two journals and afxing it to the roller and both its brackets, (orjournals extended The forces tending toy from and fastened to themsubstantially set our signatures this eighth day of Novemas speciiied,such not only a Ording advanber A. D. 1854:.

tages of which a. long spring has over a DEXTER H. CHAMBERLAIN. shortone, but also important facilities in JOHN HARTSHORN. 5 rapplying thespring or modifying its ten- Witnesses:

sion as occasion may require. R. H. EDI) n testimony whereof We havehereunto F. P. HALE, J1'.

